Research was undertaken on the possible effects of lead salts that paper can absorb in the presence of atmospheric pollution caused mostly by the combustion of lead-based additives in gasoline. The lead concentrations of papers commonly used in library materials restoration were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Sample papers (Whatman n. 1 and newsprint) were treated in two experiments with lead acetate, were then carbonated in the open air, and washed in running water; one had a concentration in the mean range of values found in paper commonly used, the other, a thousand times higher concentration. To monitor the resistance of these papers to accelerated aging (105° centigrade; 80° centigrade and 80% relative humidity; 90° centigrade and 78% relative humidity) the whiteness, pH, and infrared spectra variations were measured. Further, the degree of polymerization was measured for the Whatman paper. The presence of lead in experimental concentrations does not seem to alter substantially the stability of the papers investigated. -- AATA